Jackson County
(Mo.)
Historical Society
Portals to the Past by David W. Jackson
Union Cemetery Final
Resting Place for More than 55,000, Marks 150th Year
The practice of placing flowers
on the graves of soldiers originated as early as 1866 among Southern women. A
hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping," by
Nella L. Sweet included the line, "To The Ladies of the South who are
Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead." General John A. Logan,
as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (an organization of
Union veterans), formalized the “Memorial” or “Decoration Day” commemoration
in 1868 (His proclamation, ironically enough, was, “Order No. 11”
rekindling unpleasant memories for those who suffered during the Civil War
under another infamous order of the same title). Several Congressional acts
have led us to the “Monday Holiday Law,” we follow today.
Kansas City first observed
“Decoration Day” in May 1880 when C. C. Allen marshaled what became an annual
parade. More elaborate services were initiated in 1882 when Major William
Warner (later a U.S. Senator), who with his mounted staff, led veterans
followed by women and children carrying flowers as they marched from 6th
and Wyandotte Streets to Union Cemetery and decorated graves.
Residents have a unique
opportunity this year to gather at Union Cemetery, which is celebrating its
150th anniversary. This “silent city” is the final resting place
for more than 55,000 of our predecessors. The Union Cemetery Historical
Society is continually documenting and honoring the lives of those who rest
peacefully within their protected confines.
Imagine all the local history
these souls observed! Fortunately, some recorded their experiences and their
personal papers are preserved in local archives like the Jackson County
Historical Society. A selection of personal stories of former Kansas Citians
resting at Union Cemetery form the basis of lantern-lighted, guided tours,
“Voices from the Past: Historical Epitaphs,” on June 8, 2007.
Other long-forgotten Union
Cemetery stories I’ve “unearthed,” but don’t have the space or stomach to
relay fully here, include:
●the “ghoulish work” of
burying paupers, sometimes 3-12 to a single grave…more than 1,400 bodies per
acre, many with only a foot of top cover;
●newly buried corpses
being robbed…some later discovered in the morgue of local medical colleges;
●skeletal remains
surfacing during road construction;
●suicides and attempted
suicides at the gravesites of loved ones recently departed;
● pickpocket of a former
slave of her entire life’s savings while she attended the funeral of her
ex-master;
●Chinese funerals, and
later disinterment of the bodies for shipment to China; and,
●two undertaker’s horses
that, on separate occasions, died at the harness; one of them had 20 years of
drawing a hearse to more than 3,600 funerals.
In 1857, Dr. James W. Hunter
deeded land to the private corporation, Union Cemetery Association. The
original, picturesque, 49 acres were situated amid rolling countryside along
the first turnpike west of the Mississippi that Westport merchants had
constructed between their frontier town to its river port landing, the town
of Kansas. The original entrance to the cemetery was beside the bustling road
(today 27th and Main Streets) where a tollgate charged all north
and southbound travelers.
As development encroached, some
small family burying grounds dotting the landscape consolidated into Union
Cemetery. Even the graves in the burying ground used by the Town of Kansas
settlers between 1845 and 1857 were reinterred at Union Cemetery in 1878
(that vacated parcel located on the city block between 5th and 6th,
Oak and Locust Streets became Shelley Park for a few years; today it
comprises a clover-leaf highway access).
Within Union Cemetery’s first
50 years, signs of mismanagement by the Cemetery Association were apparent by
the shocking lack of upkeep. A purported August 1889 fire destroyed the
superintendent’s office and all the early cemetery records…a major loss since
many early graves never had tombstones installed, or were simply demarcated
by wooden or limestone markers that have decayed or become unreadable.
The invention streetcars and
later the automobile led to traffic problems that plagued city planners
needing to extend the street system. As a result, portions of Union Cemetery
were under constant threat of condemnation in the first quarter of the last
century. Then, too, the Cemetery Association sold 18 acres not used or laid
off for cemetery purposes at 27th and Main to keep the venture
afloat; the entrance retreated east.
Finally, Union Cemetery was
deeded to the City of Kansas City, Missouri in 1937. The Board of Parks and
Recreation Commissioners are Union Cemetery’s steadfast caretakers.
Another fire in October 1985
destroyed the sexton’s cottage once more; by then, records were stored
off-site. The Women in Construction of Kansas City re-built the cottage, which
was rededicated in October 1990, and serves as the headquarters of the Union
Cemetery Historical Society, 227 E 28th Terrace, Kansas City, MO
64108.
2007 Memorial Weekend Schedule
May 26, 8 a.m.: Scouts install
flags at veterans’ graves
May 26, 10-4 p.m.: Sexton’s
cottage open
May 27, 8 a.m.: Cemetery opens
May 27, 1-4 p.m.: Sexton’s
cottage open
May 28, 8 a.m.: Cemetery opens
May 28, 10-3 p.m.: Sexton’s
cottage open
May 28, 11:30: Memorial Day
service
150th Anniversary Celebration Schedule (Cemetery open June 8 and 9,
from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
June 8, 2007, 8-10 p.m.: Guided
tours featuring, "Voices from the Past: Historical Epitaphs"
Tours guided by lantern to selected graves where actors portraying early
Kansas Citians will read epitaphs of the interred.
June 9, 2007, 9
a.m.: Civil War encampment opens; period-dressed soldiers will re-enact an
historical camp
June 9, 2007, 10-11 a.m.: Commemoration Ceremony: Government officials and
historical societies gather together to pay tribute to the historical
significance of Union Cemetery. Veterans in period dress present a timeline
from Civil War through Vietnam.
June 9, 2007, 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.: Family activities: grave rubbings and
cemetery tours
David W. Jackson is archivist for the nonprofit Jackson
County (Mo.) Historical Society’s Archives and Research Library at 112 W.
Lexington Ave. Suite 103, Independence, MO, 64050. Discover all the products,
services and programs including Jackson County Counts that are
available through the Historical Society at www.jchs.org (click on ‘Educational
Opportunities’). For more information, or to donate historical materials,
call (816) 252-7454, or e-mail info@jchs.org.
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